motion city soundtracked

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Motion City Soundtrack, at least superficially, sounded like a lot of other bands. They had the sarcastic lyrics and perfect pop hooks of Fountains of Wayne; they rested at a cultural and sonic cross-section of emo and Moog-assisted pop that had been pioneered by the Get-Up Kids and the Anniversary; in both of these regards, as well as in their self-abasing point of view and their more rough-edged moments, they arguably had something of a brother band in the form of Reggie & the Full Effect. But Motion City Soundtrack still had that something special that made them stand apart, and it wasn’t only Justin Pierre’s gluestick-assisted hairstyle.

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By 2002, the band had gotten their shit together enough to record their debut LP in Eudora, KS, with Get-Up Kids producer Ed Rose. They proceeded to hand that record out at shows and distribute it via DIY online ordering, and the buzz became strong enough that in early 2003 they were signed to Epitaph and re-released the album after a few post-hoc tweaks. The strongest core elements of their sound (offbeat guitar work, propulsive keyboard-assisted hooks, Pierre’s mellifluous voice and eloquent dirtbag lyrics) shine through to this day, compounded on their 2005 Mark Hoppus-produced breakout. On their first two albums, Motion City Soundtrack perfected self-loathing power pop.

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-xoxo, Ellie